The hiking group, led by Ivan Plotnikov and consisting of Vladislav Gnatischishin, Alexandra Berdnikova, Egor Golovkov, Darya Kolomeets, Denis Nemchenko, Alina Oven, and Dmitry Filippov, recently embarked on an ambitious expedition. Over the course of 23 days, the "Svarozhichi" (a traditional name for the student hiking club "Svarog”) covered approximately 130 kilometers across the Araadan Range and the neighboring Ergaki Range. Along the way, the participants stormed mountain passes, climbed rugged peaks, and forded turbulent mountain rivers.
The Araadan Cavalry
A cool, foggy day. A group of eight hikers set out on a trail through the Western Sayan Mountains. From the very first moments, the landscape struck them with its alien scale and wild, tangled terrain, completely unlike the familiar forest-steppes of the Samara region. The navigator had it especially hard: he had to lead the group along a trail whose very outlines were lost in the dense fog. The abundance of turbulent mountain rivers became obvious on the second day, when the participants had already tried out several different types of river crossings.
For four days, we wandered through the harsh taiga, and then came the reward: the mountains and the Valley of Nine Lakes of indescribable beauty, carpeted with bright orange and purple wildflowers. The mountain sun burned with an unfamiliar intensity. A fortunate opportunity arose to make a radial hike to Araadansky Peak. Before us lay the scree-covered Minusinsk Tourists Pass, which was our route to the summit. Stones were flying—some right at our heads—accompanied by loud warnings from above. Part of the group took a detour along the rocks. The piercing wind at the saddle of the pass and on the peak finally cooled our bodies, heated from the strenuous ascent.
The descent down the pass was quite fun. It’s not every day you can slide down scree slopes like a surfer who has caught a wave.
On the way to the Malyy Kazyry-Sug Valley, along the Vodopadny (Waterfall) Stream, the "jungles" of the Western Sayan greeted us with damp, massive roots, thickets where backpacks periodically got stuck, sharp elevation changes, and huge holes between rocks from which a leg could only be extracted in a rather battered state. The sun was setting, and we had to find the path faster. Need we say that we made it? But just two days later, the trail leading up to the Snezhny (Snowy) Pass twisted in the strangest ways. It went up and down, and we had to crawl through fallen timber. Thunder rumbled, lightning flashed, and the best decision was to keep scrambling over rocks and bushes. We reached the campsite in the most fortunate weather window, boiling tea inside the tent's vestibule. The evening was cozy and warm, even as heavenly water lashed against the sides of the tent.
After some time, we finally reached the long-awaited clear trail. On the shores of the sprawling Krasnoye (Red) Lake, Siberian pine trees towered above us, and some participants managed to snack on their pine nuts. The group picked up the pace and executed a forced march that had previously only been discussed as a joke. We spent one rest day at the "Sleeping Sayan" tourist base.
The Ergaki Range: There and Back Again
The second part of our route began. It was less wild and occasionally populated by a diverse crowd of tourists. Our newly reloaded company rushed along the well-trodden paths at an unprecedented speed. Compared to the Araadan Range, beautiful views here were just a stone's throw away.
The next day, our team headed toward Artists' Lake (Ozero Khudozhnikov), successfully crossing the Zvyozdny (Starry) and Ptitsa (Bird) passes along the way. The campsite at Artists' Lake turned out to be crowded but surprisingly quiet. This lake was originally introduced to the public by four Krasnoyarsk artists: Boris Ryauzov, Ryannel Toyvo, Vladimir Kolotilin, and Grigory Ruiga.
The setting sun covered the famous Parabola Peak in flames, which we were to climb the next day. The radial hike turned out to be not too strenuous, and most importantly, we saw the entire beauty of the Ergaki Range from the heights of Parabola Peak (also known as "Tolstyy Brat" or Fat Brother). A day later, we climbed Molodezhny Peak.
We eventually reached the swampy terrain near Bolshoye Buybinskoye Lake, and for the first time, we were caught in a hailstorm. Autumn was arriving in the mountains, but the weather remained highly changeable. We exited the route on time; by that moment, it had become deafeningly quiet at the campsite by Svetloye Lake. The nature of the Western Sayan is majestic, beautiful, and harbors hidden dangers.
The expedition was made possible with the support of the staff of the Department of Extracurricular Activities and the Sports and Mass Events Office.
Text: Alexandra Berdnikova
Photos: Darya Kolomeets, Anastasia Berdnikova, Vladislav Gnatischishin, Egor Golovkov, Dmitry Filippov
